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Zipacna, a MythSource painting
Mesoamerican

Zipacna

01Identity

Zipacna in Mesoamerican tradition

Zipacna carried a large log to the entrance of the Four Hundred Boys’ hut. The boys feared his strength and tricked him into digging a deep hole. They dropped a log into it, but Zipacna survived by hiding below the ground. He waited until the boys became drunk, then brought their hut down on them and killed them all. Later, Hunahpu and Xbalanque found him looking for food. He said that he ate fish and crabs. They led him towards a large crab, which was part of a trap. Zipacna entered the trap on his back, and a great mountain settled on his chest. He could not turn over. The account described him as the elder son of Seven Macaw’s two sons. It also called him a crocodilian monster who claimed to make mountains.

Top questions

The quick answers

02Family

Zipacna’s family, at a glance

Parents above, children below, and the figure’s consorts named in between, the same family data as the fact box, laid out as a chart instead of a field list.

Vucub Caquix
ZipacnaCabrakán
03The myths

The myths of Zipacna

2 myths, each traced to its primary text and corpus sources.

Zipacna and the Four Hundred Boys

Zipacna met the Four Hundred Boys when they struggled to move a large log. He offered to carry it and asked where they wanted it taken. They told him that it would serve as the lintel of their hut. Zipacna lifted the log and carried it to the entrance.

The boys asked him to stay with them. They asked whether he had a mother or father, and he said that he did not. They then asked him to help cut another log for a post on the following day. He agreed.

Afterwards, the Four Hundred Boys discussed what to do about him. They thought they should kill him because he had lifted the log alone. They dug a large hole and planned to trick him into entering it. They intended to accuse him of filling the hole with dirt, then force a large log down behind him.

Zipacna went down into a hole that kept him safe. From below, he called to the boys and asked them to remove the earth. He made his voice seem distant, as if he were far below them. The boys dragged a large log to the hole and dropped it inside. They hid and listened for him to cry out. When the log reached the bottom, Zipacna gave one cry. The boys believed that he had died.

Later, ants carried hair and nails from the hole. The boys saw this and believed that the ants had stripped Zipacna’s body. In fact, Zipacna remained alive. He cut the hair from his head and chewed off his nails for the ants to carry away.

On the third day, the boys prepared their sweet drink. All four hundred became drunk. While they were unable to sense what was happening, Zipacna brought their hut down upon them. Every one of the Four Hundred Boys died. Zipacna was the son of Seven Macaw.

Zipacna and the Four Hundred Boys, a MythSource painting of the scene

3 sources· checked 2026-08-30

  1. 1Popol vuh : the Mayan book of the dawn of lifeT1
  2. 2Popol vuh : the Mayan book of the dawn of lifeT1
  3. 3Popol vuh : the Mayan book of the dawn of lifeT1

The Defeat of Zipacna

Hunahpu and Xbalanque met Zipacna beside the water. He said that he searched for food and had found nothing to eat for two days. He lived on fish and crabs, but none were available. The hunger had become unbearable.

The boys told him about a huge crab in a canyon. They said that they had tried to catch it, but it had bitten them and frightened them. They asked Zipacna to catch it instead. He asked them to show him where it was, and they led him towards the canyon.

The boys had prepared a false crab beneath an overhang at the foot of a great mountain. They made its back from a flagstone, which clattered, and arranged the shell so that it appeared in the canyon. The mountain was called Meauan, and it was the place where the defeat took place.

When Zipacna saw the crab, he was pleased. Its shell shone red as it lay on its side beneath the canyon wall. He wanted to eat it at once and entered towards it. The crab’s back was turned down, so Zipacna came out again. The boys asked whether he had reached it. He replied that he had almost caught it and decided to enter on his back.

Zipacna entered again, this time with his back below him. He went in until only his kneecaps remained outside. Then he gave a final sigh and became still. The great mountain came down onto his chest. He could not turn over, and the mountain trapped him. In this way Hunahpu and Xbalanque defeated Zipacna.

The Defeat of Zipacna, a MythSource painting of the scene

3 sources· checked 2026-08-30

  1. 1Popol vuh : the Mayan book of the dawn of lifeT1
  2. 2Popol vuh : the Mayan book of the dawn of lifeT1
  3. 3Popol vuh : the Mayan book of the dawn of lifeT1